Dr Kyra Schwarz
Research Fellow
Schwarz is a chemist and physicist specialising in emerging solar technologies and the quantum light-matter interactions. With an expertise in spectroscopy including ultrafast laser techniques, she is passionate about how light and nanomaterials can be harnessed to help drive the global energy transition.
Originally from Adelaide, South Australia, Kyra undertook her undergraduate studies at the University of Adelaide. She completed a PhD at the University of Melbourne focussing on the impact of nanoscale morphological control on light-harvesting in emerging organic solar cell materials. Kyra joined the Scholes group at Princeton University as a postdoctoral researcher in 2017, where she worked on understanding the quantum nature of chemical reactions and utilising design principles inspired by nature for photovoltaic technologies.
Kyra’s role in the Exciton Science Centre is to undertake proof-of-principle research for collaborations and industry partners and to develop and investigate systems that can achieve new efficiency limits in photovoltaics.
Kyra will focus specifically on applying ultrafast laser spectroscopy techniques to (i) investigate new nanomaterials for near infrared light upconversion to improve solar conversion efficiencies and (ii) manipulate energy and electron transfer processes in model systems and polymeric materials.
